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5 Useful “Tools” for Your RV Lifestyle with Kids

By Daniela McVicker

The RV lifestyle with kids does have its challenges. These tools will help you adjust to this lifestyle

There are a number of adjustments and challenges that parents will be making when they decide on the RV lifestyle with kids, whether this RV lifestyle is for vacations or for full-time RVing. Among these are the following:

• There will be noise and not much of a way to get away from that, other than outside. Kids are kids. They will play and they will be loud.
• There will be a lack of former privacy. Being able to close oneself off into a room that is far removed from others is really not possible. Forget insulation.
• Where you stay does matter. Family-friendly campgrounds will often include pools, playgrounds, laundry rooms, and other kids.

One of the biggest issues is having the right “tools” to keep kids busy, comfortable, and happy while on the road and while actually camped. Here is a list of the most popular and most useful of those tools.

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1. Devices

As much as they are maligned by people living more traditional lifestyles (too much screen time seems always to be an issue), tablets and phones are pretty critical while RVing. There are long times on the road, and kids do need to be entertained. Their devices allow them to be entertained and occupied during these long over-the-road hours. Once the family arrives, there will be plenty to do that takes them away from those devices.

2. Crafts/Games/Toys 

What does a family with kids do when the weather is bad? And you do need to plan for those days in advance. Having a major supply of indoor activities is an absolute must, along with games that the entire family can enjoy. These days will also provide a special “thanks” for TV and their other devices. And obviously, as these craft tools are used up, they must be replaced. 

Indoor toys will be very valuable during bad-weather days. Legos, Lincoln Logs, etc. will allow kids to be creative and yet quietly active.

Another activity during bad days is cooking if your RV has that capacity. Kids can bake; they can make snack foods; they can help prepare meals.

3. Outdoor “Tools”

Consider all the outdoor activities that are possible depending upon where you may stop on your journeys. These should guide the “tools” that you intend to take with you:

• Bikes: These can be housed on top of an RV or in a storage container that is towed. And in some RV’s, there is built-in storage for these types of toys.
• 4-Wheelers: If there is storage for these types of vehicles, all the better. If not, campgrounds can be found that will rent them.
• Water Tools: Of course, in warm weather, and with the right campgrounds, there will be opportunities for lots of water activities. And the list of tools will be long, whether they are brought along or rented when you “land.” Life jackets, tubes, skiing and waterboarding equipment, rafts, etc. are all things that will be necessary. Bring along what you can and plan to rent the rest.
• Hiking Gear: Boots and clothing for hiking are a must if this is a planned activity. Make sure that things are waterproof.
• Fishing Gear: Fishing is one of the best activities for kids, once RVs are “planted” near rivers and lakes. And these opportunities foster additional learning and “tools.” Teaching kids to clean their catches and then to cook them will require the right tools, and they will pick up some skills for the rest of their lives.

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4. Schooling

For those families that choose a permanent RV lifestyle, there will be the challenge of home-schooling. And the tools needed for this will be many. The curriculum will have to be acquired; there will be both offline and online resources to be used. Kids need curriculum materials, learning activities, assessments, and such, and parents will need to see to it that all of those learning tools are present for use.

5. Journals

This is a long-term goal. But consider the value of providing journals for each of your kids as they move through their elementary and teen years. Keeping journals of all of the travels, the experiences, the sightseeing, etc. will provide a historical record that will be permanent and that will be far better than just the memories that hold in their brains. Years later, as adults, they will be able to return to those traveling days and re-live those grand experiences. These journals will be priceless. 

In the End

RV life with kids does have its challenges, to be sure. There are issues, whether those kids are young, tweens, or full-blown teenagers. But many families find that the benefits far outweigh these challenges and choose an RV lifestyle for vacations and/or full-time living. If kids of all ages have the right tools to make their own RV life as comfortable, enjoyable, and fulfilling as possible, they will pile up memories that can never be equaled.

About The Author

Daniela McVicker is a psychologist and family counselor. She is also a freelance writer and a contributor to Topwritersreview and FreeEssayWriters. Her passion is writing about leading a healthy family life and helping people enjoy their lives to the fullest.

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